MPs demand proof that P&O Ferries is a viable business
Last month, Liam Byrne, chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, wrote to P&O's chief executive after the company missed a legal deadline to file its accounts and its auditor, KPMG, suddenly resigned.
P&O's Ferries Holdings Limited 2023 accounts are now eight months overdue - the third year in a row it has filed late.
In a written response, published this morning, the boss of P&O, Peter Hebblethwaite, blamed the delay on 'a period of transformation and restructuring' and said the accounts would be published 'by early July 2025'.
He added: 'P&O Ferries is a going concern, with the full backing of DP World' - the Dubai-based, global ports operator that owns P&O.
Failure to report accounts on time is a criminal offence and it leaves investors, creditors, suppliers, staff and customers guessing at a company's financial health.
Liam Byrne says the committee wants greater proof P&O is a viable business.
'It's good that finally P&O have come clean and said yes, they are a going concern,' Bryne told ITV News. 'But I'm asking for something simple: I want the accounts to prove it and I want the guarantees in writing from their parent company and I want those on the table. Now.'
Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne MP tells ITV News he wants to see P&O Ferries' accounts.
P&O Ferries has been heavily loss-making in recent years.
In March 2022, the company fired 800 staff in the UK, without notice, and replaced them with cheaper agency workers in order to cut costs and avoid bankruptcy.
P&O's accounts for 2022, which were submitted 13 months late, showed the company had borrowed more than £300 million from its parent company, DP World, in order to continue trading.
The same accounts showed that P&O was struggling to repay the money it owed and was 'in breach of covenants with respect to its external debt'.
MPs are demanding to know exactly how much financial help P&O Ferries is getting from DP World, on what terms and whether the support is enough to keep the business going.
They have given the company until 16th June to offer clarity.
'P&O is not being transparent,' says Byrne. 'We are completely open to recalling P&O to give a better account of themselves in front of the House of Commons. This company is too important for it to go wrong. Too much is at stake and, frankly, this saga has been going on for too long.'
P&O Ferries declined our request for comment.
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